


A Father's Worst Nightmare

by babygirl127



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003)
Genre: Fatherhood, Gen, Love, worrying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-12 23:05:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4498107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babygirl127/pseuds/babygirl127
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every parent worries for their children and Master Splinter is no exception</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Father's Worst Nightmare

It was a night just like any other night and that chilled Master Splinter to the bone. His four sons were laughing and joking together as they grabbed their gear and weapons and left the safety of their home to travel topside and patrol the city.

Master Splinter remained in the living room just long enough to see his sons off for the night. As soon as the door closed behind him, he retreated to the sanctuary of his bedroom to wait for his sons’ return.

As calmly as he could possibly manage, Splinter took a seat on one of his pillows and settled down to meditate. He knew that it was the only thing that would be able to help him stay calm while his sons were out of his sight and too far away for him to protect.

Being a father wasn’t something that he had ever planned on becoming. As a rat he’d had the normal instincts to find a female rat and to try and pass along his genes but that wasn’t the same thing as what he currently found himself doing. Raising, nurturing, and loving four boys from infancy to the present wasn’t something that Splinter had ever intended on doing.

It was by sheer luck that he had found his sons to begin with. If he hadn’t decided to go scavenging that day or if he had been frightened off by the glowing ooze instead of curious about the sorrowful sounds coming from it he wouldn’t be where he was right now. So many little things that if changed would mean that he wouldn’t have four bright lights in his life right now.

It would also mean that he wouldn’t be worried sick at the moment. Master Splinter had trained his sons from a young age in the art of ninjitsu in order to protect them. He knew that the world above would be hostile to those that were different from themselves and he wasn’t about to let his sons out of his sight undefended. He had done what he could but children grow and they need their independence and he couldn’t deny them that.

Worry and fear were the price that he paid however for giving them their independence. He knew that there was no way that he could have kept them locked up underground for their entire lives and he couldn’t be with them all of the time. He had taught them to protect themselves and each other but Splinter knew that it wasn’t always enough.

As a father it was the worst feeling in the world to see one’s child hurt and to know that they failed in protecting them. When it came to one’s youngest it was especially hard.

As Splinter meditated he couldn’t stop his mind from being drawn back to the Battle Nexus tournament when his youngest son had won the title. Michelangelo had fought well and received a few lucky breaks in order to win and that had opened the doors to chaos.

When Mikey’s opponent, Kluh, had demanded a rematch and the Gyoji to the Ultimate Daimyo had granted it, there was nothing that Master Splinter could do to stop it. He trusted that his son could defeat his opponent but during the match it appeared that his son was going to lose not only the match but his life as well.

With the Daimyo’s powers being blocked, there was no way for Splinter to enter the ring and protect his son. For a moment Splinter had been certain that he would be returning home with only three sons instead of four and it was enough to stop his heart. The moment that Mikey was able to get back up and beat Kluh had been an enormous relief to Splinter.

Slowly Splinter was able to pull his mind away from that unpleasant memory by reminding himself that he still had his youngest and was able to hear his laughter echo throughout their home. This just meant that his mind could turn towards the dangers that another of his sons had faced.

Raphael was his most hot tempered of sons and the first to leap into danger if he thought the cause was right or that someone he loved was in trouble. This meant the he was often the one coming home covered in the most cuts, bruises, and injuries of any of them but Splinter could remember a night when Raph didn’t come home.

It hadn’t been very long after he had started allowing his sons to travel up to the world controlled by the humans to patrol the streets for crime and they had met their new friend Casey Jones. Casey had approached them one night about a gang tagging walls with a sign attacking turtles. Raph had left with Casey to check it out but Casey had returned without Splinter’s son leading him to fear the worst.

Warnings of invisible ninjas had been given as Splinter’s remaining sons went to rescue their brother. Splinter had stayed behind in case Raph were to escape on his own and need medical assistance but had worried the entire time that all that would be brought back to him would be the corpse of his most passionate of children.

In the end Raph had returned with very few injuries to his body though more than a few to his pride. Splinter had been glad to see all of his children in front of him at that time but now he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to a time that all of his sons had been in front of his but they hadn’t all been injury free.

Leonardo was the oldest and the leader of his brothers and as such faced far more danger from their enemies because of that. It didn’t matter if it was in the middle of a battle or while he was all alone, their enemies would take any chance to attack and try to incapacitate the young leader.

There had been a time where the small family was staying with April in her apartment while the Foot scoured the sewers looking for them. Splinter had given his blessing for Leo to go out for a solo run along the rooftops. He had expected that his son would be safe since the majority of the Foot had taken to the sewers.

Splinter had been proven wrong in this assumption however when his son was thrown through the window of April’s apartment half dead. By the time that he had reached Leo’s side he had feared that his son was more than half dead and couldn’t help but feel greatly relieved when he had discovered that his son was merely gravely injured.

In the end they had needed to fight off the Foot that followed behind Leo while at the same time protecting his helpless son. They had retreated up to Casey’s grandmother’s farmhouse and it had taken a lot of work, care, and time to restore Leo to health once more.

Splinter shuddered in his meditation at the memory of how close he had come to losing his oldest son. It had been a long road for Leo to travel in order to return his body to his normal condition but the task of healing him mentally had been just as hard.

The oldest was not the only one of his sons that Splinter had feared for when it came to their mental safety. There had been a time that his most intelligent son had nearly lost the thing that he held most dear to him.

Splinter’s thoughts were drawn back to the time when the Triceratons had invaded Earth in order to search for the Fugitoid. April and Casey had been rounded up in Central Park and while he was trying to rescue them, Don was taken hostage.

If that wasn’t bad enough, the Triceratons had devised the cruelest torture possible for the genius turtle. In order to find out what Don knew about the Fugitoid they had strapped a mind probe to his head in order to extract his memories of the escaped robot.

Not only would the mind probe extract Don’s memories but it would also destroy his mind in the process. As hard as Don had tried, he had not been able to fight off the power of the alien technology by himself and in a fit of desperation he had mentally called out to his father for help.

Splinter had been meditating at home at that time just as he was now and had felt his son calling for him. The moment he had connected with Donatello’s mind, Splinter had felt the same agonizing pain that his son was feeling. It was hard but together they were able to force back and eventually destroy the mind probe.

As soon as the probe was broken, Splinter had lost the connection to his son leaving him with no way of knowing if he was safe or if he would succumb to some other form of torture that would leave him broken beyond repair. In the end Don had returned home safe and sound but until that moment Splinter had been wrecked with worry.

That was similar to how Splinter felt right now sitting in his room waiting for his sons to return from their patrol. They had all been hurt so many times and he had been unable to protect them like a father should do.

He knew that the only way he could keep them completely safe all of the time would be to keep them locked underground all of the time within his sight. He also knew that his sons would never be able to accept that and he could never enforce it. They did not deserve to be treated like prisoners just to assuage his fears.

This meant that all Splinter could do was await his sons’ return and pray that they would come home to him safe and sound. Minutes felt like hours and the hours felt like an eternity before the sound of the door to the lair creeping open reached his ears.

The only people that knew how to find the lair were his sons, April, Casey, and LH. Splinter found himself tensing up unconsciously as he counted the footsteps that came into their home.

First came the loud footsteps of one that wanted to be in so many places at once that could only belong to Michelangelo. Next where the shuffling steps of an overtired Donatello. Raphael was just as recognizable for his quiet steps despite his muscled bulk.

For a moment Splinter felt his heart stop when he didn’t hear the footsteps of his oldest child. He was just about to charge out of his room to check on his son when the tiniest whisper of a foot grazing across the floor reached his ears. Leonardo was progressing quite well in his training but he was still no match for his sensei.

Once he was certain of all of his sons’ presence Splinter listened for any telltale sounds of a patrol gone wrong. Hearing none, Splinter allowed himself to relax for the first time since his precious children left the safety of their home.

Splinter knew that he wouldn’t be able to always be there to protect his children and he had to let them grown up and become independent individuals but that didn’t make the process any easier. He had experience a father’s worst nightmare four times over already and every time his sons left their home without him, he relived those experiences until they were home again.

Taking his walking stick into his hand, Splinter made his way onto his feet as fast as his aching bones would allow him to and started towards the door. Now that his sons were home he would go out and greet them and assure himself with his own eyes that they were safe and whole. That was all he could ask for his sons as a father.


End file.
